Build lean muscle and strength in just 8 weeks with this free strength training plan

The base phase is a great time to increase speed by boosting power through a base strength training plan for triathlon. Luckily, we’ve got all the training plans you might need!

Over the winter, the bulk of the work in your training schedule will be focusing on base fitness. And while it’s right to be building foundations for next season, it shouldn’t mean that you only do low-intensity miles.

Strength for a triathlete encompasses many areas – the amount of force generated into every swim stroke, the amount of power produced through the pedal strokes or the ease in which you can run an uphill section of a race. Strength for an endurance athlete should not be confused with explosive power.

As endurance athletes, we need to generate optimal strength over many thousand arm or leg revolutions and attempt to find the holy grail of optimal power-to-weight ratio.

How to use our free base strength plan

This eight-week plan is targeted at an Olympic-distance triathlon, so the duration can be increased or decreased depending on your targets.

At this time of year it’s still important to get outside for training and a number of the sessions are better executed outside, especially the long runs. So try to find some hills on an ideally off-road (and maybe muddy) route.

On the flip side, if the weather is rubbish then the bike and run interval sessions are great on indoor equipment. And in some cases better as you can control the session structure more.

Swim training shouldn’t be left out, as we can use training aids like pull buoys or paddles to focus more on the strength needed to improve technique and create better force in each stroke, which leads to more speed.

The plan also includes twice-weekly, short-duration conditioning sessions, which are ideal at home with minimal equipment.

The key to improving strength through conditioning is to not underestimate how effective a 20min session can be. Don’t let this be the one session that slips!

For this kind of plan to be effective, embrace muscle soreness after training – it’s just adaptation to the stimulus. At the end of the eight-week plan you’ll be a force to be reckoned with!

After finishing, get started on our free Olympic-distance training plan next.

Coach Dermott’s top 4 tips

1. Don’t avoid hills

They need to be conquered and will make you a powerful athlete. Even adding small hills to your training can add up to big spring gains, especially if your next race season has some hilly courses.

2. Check your protein levels

Take a quick inventory of your diet to ensure you have a sufficient amount of protein to assist the recovery process after training. For a guide, sports dietician Renee McGregor says “current recommendations state around 1.2-1.8g/kg bodyweight (BW)/day protein for endurance sports.”

3. Embrace the gym

Avoid the S&C workouts at your peril! Not only can they help to prevent injury, but they can be the key to unlocking more power. Feel free to adapt the exercises to suit your starting point and take note of your max strength output at the start of the plan so that you can measure how far you progress.

4. Think form and position

Adapt and improve both your bike and run posture with body awareness when climbing to remain efficient. Activating your core always helps to improve posture as you run or cycle, find out more about your running gait here.

Winter 2-month base strength training plan

This two-month strength training plan is an ideal duration to tackle over the winter months when you can dedicate more time to building that base in a slow and less injury-provoking manner without the intensity of racing. Though this is called a ‘strength’ training plan, there’s no gym strength training in the plan but rather a target of building discipline-specific strength and fitness across swim, bike, and run. Look to pair this plan with our coach-built strength training sessions optimised for off-season gains.

For more strength content, here’s what specific strength training should female athletes do.